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N. ALBERT MOUSSA, Ph.D, P.E.

Dr. Albert Moussa specializes in fuel and combustion systems and their applications to energy, environment and safety. For over forty years, he has practiced these disciplines in the aerospace, chemical and power industries and in four continents. His experience blends theory, practice, engineering, management and entrepreneurship skills. His work ranges from the development of cutting-edge technologies to the assessment of their commercial potential accounting for technical, safety and marketing risks. Presently, he is president of BlazeTech, a contract R&D firm that he founded over 30 years ago. Under his direction, BlazeTech has developed innovative software on environmental safety, hardware for fire detection and overpressure protection aboard aircraft, and instruments to measure the size, temperature and mass flux of fine particle streams and more recently innovative filters for lunar and Mars dust. Previously, he worked at MIT for 2 years and Arthur D. Little, Inc. for 10 years. He received his B.S. (1971) with honors from Stanford University and his M.S. (1972) and Ph.D. (1976) from MIT, all in Mechanical Engineering though his professional work has encompassed aerospace and chemical engineering. He is a registered Professional Engineer in MA. He has published widely including one book, co-edited one conference proceedings and served on the Editorial Board of the Energy Resources Journal. His awards include William Littlewood Memorial Lecture by SAE/AIAA, Engineer of the Year by AIAA NE Section, best papers by SAE and ASEI, AIAA Distinguished Lecturer and various ASME citations.

Over the years, he has consulted on major fire/explosion accidents in the US and overseas. His forte is bridging the gap between theory and practice to provide innovative and cost-effective solutions to new, one-of-kind problems. His forewarnings about aircraft fuel system vulnerabilities before the occurrence of TWA800 and Concorde disasters have gained him prominence in the US and European media. He teaches an annual professional course on aircraft fire hazards, protection and investigation and was an invited lecturer on this subject at the National Transportation Safety Board Training Center, MIT, Michigan State University and Northeastern University. His credentials include William Lockwood Memorial Lecture Award, Engineer of the Year by the NE- AIAA Section, AIAA Distinguished Lecturer, Engineering Leadership Lecture at Northeastern University Best Papers by SAE and ASEI, and several ASME citations. He served on national committees and was Associate Editor of an American Society of Mechanical Engineering (ASME) Journal. He has been a member of several honorary societies and professional organizations.

Examples of his safety work that show the breadth of his accomplishments are:

  • For various transportation systems, he reviewed the flammability, smoke, and toxic properties of existing and candidate materials for seats and panels. For the subway, he modeled fire growth on a train and passengers escape from a disabled train in a tunnel and evaluated the emergency response systems. Thus, he quantified the relative benefits of adding in the tunnel an exit shaft, a standpipe, or ventilation fans.
  • For the Coast Guard, he participated in designing the world's largest (10,000 gals) LNG spill fire test of its time. Both pool and vapor fires were tested. He analyzed and interpreted the data, identifying salient features of these fires.
  • For a major LNG import terminal, he estimated a probability for overfilling an LNG tanker truck. Using fault-tree analysis, he related this probability to the failure rates of equipment such as level gages, pressure sensors (etc.) and to operator errors. He identified likely failure modes and means to mitigate them.
  • For the Saudi Arabian government, he surveyed the fire safety practices and needs of the bunkering industry in the entire kingdom. He inspected on-shore hydrants, barges and off-shore platforms. He outlined guidelines for operation/monitoring.
  • For a number of commercial clients, he carried out risk analysis studies covering oil/LNG/LPG operations, and shipments of hazardous materials by various transportation systems. He modeled accident consequences, developed fault trees and risk profiles, and discussed risk acceptability.
  • For DOT, he compared "quantitatively" the risks associated with Expandable Launch Vehicles to various industrial and transportation activities. The analysis covered handling, transport, storage and launch operations of liquid hydrogen/oxygen, RP-1, hypergolics and solid propellants.
  • For the Gas Research Institute, he conducted a city-wide survey of common devices that could ignite a vapor cloud of natural gas. He tested the ignition potential of cigarettes, traffic/street lights, automobiles, door bell relays, etc.
  • For the US Army, he tested a unique electrochemical pad containing magnesium. The effectiveness of major Class D fire Agents was evaluated. Also, hydrogen (produced by the water-magnesium reaction) was measured and the potential build-up of flammable gas in ventilated enclosures was modeled. The MSDS for this device was revised to incorporate the study.
  • For an insurance company, he investigated the fire hazards of closely-spaced storage racks in warehouses. The burning of large vertical surfaces was tested (singly and in pairs to confine radiation) and was modeled successfully.
  • For the Bureau of Mines, he assessed hazards associated with coal and metal mining: gob, rib and electrical fires, coal pile self-heating and methane/coal dust explosions. He evaluated safety measures such as rock dusting, oxygen masks and fire curtains.
  • For an airport facility, he investigated a fire involving the incineration of Volatile Organic Compounds emitted from the regeneration of lubricating oils. He designed an improved incinerator, tailored to the intermittent nature of this operation.
  • For NASA, he compared the crash fire hazards of aircraft fueled by liquid hydrogen, liquid methane and Jet A. He reviewed historical data to identify the locations and amounts of fuel release. For each case, he analyzed the potential consequences of pool fire, fireball and explosion.
  • For several lawyers, he provided technical assistance in the litigation of product liability to determine origin and cause of fires. He reviewed depositions, inspected the accident location, identified a probable chronology of events, prepared affidavits, and sometimes, reconstructed main events of the fire in simulation tests including various fuels: Jet A, gasoline, diesel, JP-5, hydraulic fluids and LNG. He investigated cases involving explosions (natural gas, propane, lighter fluid) and fires (electrical wiring, appliances, polyurethane insulation materials, coal piles, magnesium powders, waste composter) on systems such as aircraft, ship, van, residential/commercial buildings, and heating and power generation equipment.

Dr. Moussa can be reached at:

BlazeTech Corporation
29B Montvale Ave.
Woburn,MA 01801-7021
781-759-0700
amoussa@blazetech.com